"Look at how sad it is!" The islander whined, gesturing frantically to a lone succulent in the front window of the mall. To him, the plant truly did look upset. He thought it's leaves tilted in a way that looked as if it was slouching and that it's face was too droopy. Seeing as it was a cousin to wysteria though, the floppiness of it was to be expected.
"Plants don't have feelings, Nox." It was such a flippant remark, one that could even be considered innocent, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Jace was tired, a little drained even from following his boyfriend around the shopping centre all day like a mother duck trailing after her child. Because of his fatigue his tact had flown out the window and with it his memory of just how sensitive his boyfriend really was.
All of a sudden, Nox's shoulders squared, a muscle near his throat jumping with the movement. His lower lip jutted out and wobbled like he was about to cry and his eyes misted. He held this look for one pitiful second before he charged into the shop, Jace's credit card clamped between his fingers like it was a matter of life and death which to him it probably was.
"Dios..." The now cardless man mumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and quell the headache that was starting to bloom behind his temples. He knew that trying to reason with Nox when he was like this was a wasted effort so he lurked outside with his arms crossed over his chest and his heel clicking against the pavement.
❀
As soon as Nox entered the store, the sweet smell of flowers curled all around him. It was thick in the air, almost like a tangible thing, and it was clearly an aid in tempting customers to make their purchases. But Nox already had his heart set on a specific plant. He shoved his boyfriend's card in the pocket of his pants and manuevered his way past the few people blocking his way to bliss. Finally, he got his hands on the terracotta pot holding the newest addition to his herby family. He freed it from it's display case prison and waddled over to the counter, hastily making his purchase and emerging a new man with a new plant.
Jace looked at him from beneath raised eyebrows, a look that screamed the question 'again?' Because if you think this is the first time that Nox has snatched is love's credit card, gone off claiming that a plant needed saving, and come back with a triumphant grin on his face... Well, you're not very good at inferring things, are you?
Nox shifted his weight a bit sheepishly, the rope hanger his plant rested in dangling from his fingers. He scuffed his shoe across the ground in a wide arc then glancing back up at Jace with a pair of critically adorable puppy dog eyes. They were consistently freakishly effective and frequently caused the Latino man to hate his own weak will.
"I can't stay mad at you. Really, it's annoying how you can worm your way out of these things so easily." Jade complained and then found himself in the arms of his taller boyfriend as he showered him with well deserved affection.
❀
"Jace; Jace, come look!" A voice called from down the hall. The man in question stretched, tearing his eyes away from the incessantly bright screen of his computer and shoving everything related to taxes out of his mind.
"Hold on, I'll be there in a second!" Jace grunted back and stood up from his chair, pulling his arm across his chest and keening when his shoulder popped. Then he drug his slippered feet across the wood grain floor and found Nox in his room. Not his bedroom, they shared one of those, but a room that Jace had let him devote whatever he wanted to it. Naturally, he had chosen anything and everything to do with plants.
The walls were pasted with images ranging from the anatomy of a poppy to just a magazine cut out of a smiling sunflower that Nox could not stop giggling at. As a whole, the room was one of the most calming places in the house thanks to it's floral scent and the constant golden sunlight bathing any and all available space.
"Look, look!" And there was Nox, crouched down over his newest baby. He was wearing an off white (it had been white when they originally bought it) work apron and it's pockets were bursting at the seams with seed pod packets, shovels, and miniature watering tins. Not that the man putting it all to use seemed to mind. "His name's Waxy." He declared proudly, explaining that the choice was attributed to the fact that all succulents had a balmy kind of film over their leaves to seal in the moisture. His reasoning wasn't nearly that scientific though, he simply said that it looked shiny.
"Waxy, eh? Maybe he'd be good next to Spiny." Jade suggested, referring to the cactus that Nox was particularly fond of.
His eyes lit up and he nodded energetically. "That's what I was thinking too!" And with a few well placed steps he had set Waxy down next to his brother. Honestly, the way he was gazing at the two made him look like a nostalgic father saying goodbye to his boys on their first day of school. It caused Jace to snicker quietly and Nox turned his head. "What is it?"
"Nothing, just... You're adorable."
